Michael DeMocker/The Times-PicayuneIndiana Pacers guard T.J. Ford loses the ball off his back heel under pressure from New Orleans Hornets forward Julian Wright on Friday night at the New Orleans Arena. Wright, who could receive more playing time with Darius Songaila out for at least two weeks, scored five points and grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes.And one of the primary beneficiaries of added playing time could eventually be seldom-used and often-injured -- this year at least -- Sean Marks.

Marks has missed all but 11 of 54 games this season with two injuries (strained right shoulder, strained plantaris muscle in lower left leg), nine DNP-coach's decision and 10 games on the inactive list.

"It's been, from a basketball standpoint, a little tough, " Marks said. "I've had some nagging injuries that kept me out a lot longer than I would have liked. But it's been a fun year just being around the guys. We've got a great team camaraderie, and we've managed to make something out of nothing.

"A lot of people had written us off. But guys are using that to fuel their fire. It's fun. Always the underdog, whatever cliché you want to use, but it's been fun."

Hornets Coach Jeff Bower said he'd likely use a combination of players to fill the void left by Songaila, who rolled his ankle in the closing moments of Wednesday night's 98-90 loss to Utah when scrambling for a loose ball in front of the New Orleans bench.

That includes Marks, Julian Wright, Aaron Gray and James Posey.

But Marks, who has played just twice in the last nine games -- for a total of nine minutes -- realizes that

"It's really tough because Darius has played so well for us this year, " Marks said. "He's been arguably, if not our most consistent, one of our most consistent players all year long. You know what you're going to get out of him night in and night out. That's going to be a tough one for us to try and bounce back from.

"But as Coach told us this morning, it's an opportunity for all of us to try and step up. Lineups could be a little different, different rotations and what-not. Whether that's myself being called upon, JuJu more, Aaron more, that person has to be ready. Or maybe it's a group effort. Maybe three or four guys have to step up and pick up the slack."

Even though the Hornets have the roster flexibility to add a player or two via 10-day contracts, Bower said no move was imminent.

"We'll watch how we do with what we have and see what type of impact this situation creates for us, " Bower said. "We want to give these guys a chance because they have certain strengths we're going to try to utilize. We'll watch how we do for a while before we make any further moves."

TRADE NEWS? Bower, when asked, would not talk about what kind of trade offers other teams might have made or received before Thursday afternoon's deadline.

"We obviously didn't have anything presented to us that we felt would improve our team or improve our overall situation and meet our objectives, " Bower said. "It was an active period, but now that we're past it, we felt this group was better than any situations we might have discussed."

NO FLOYD: Hornets lead assistant Tim Floyd was not on the bench Friday night because he was attending the NCAA hearing looking into various allegations at the University of Southern California. Those proceedings are taking place in Tempe, Ariz., and are scheduled to conclude today.

COURT DEDICATION: Hornets guard Chris Paul will dedicate a third refurbished playground Saturday at the A.L. Davis Playground at 2600 LaSalle Street Uptown at 2:30 p.m. The ceremony is scheduled to include interactive activities including a basketball clinic, inflatable games and a mobile fitness unit from Ochsner and Elmwood Fitness.

Paul will also present a check donation to a Big Brothers/Big Sisters chapter and the STAIR program, both charities affiliated with the Fore!Kids Foundation.

Proceeds from Paul's inaugural CP3 Celebrity Golf Classic which benefited the CP3 Foundation provided the funs to purchase new goals and equipment at the court, which is painted to replicate the New Orleans Arena floor.

Urban Strategies, a community services group that serves the nearby Harmony Oaks development, provided funds to refurbish the canopy that covers the court.

Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.